Meghan McCain Is Red, White, and Blunt

Full of sass—and occasional flashes of wisdom—Senator John's daughter dishes about her dad's ex (that would be a certain Palin),
social media "mind fucks," and her new reality show, the aptly named
Raising McCain

John McCain has never had a shortage of outspoken women surrounding him. When his mother, Roberta (incidentally, still alive and kicking at 101), received a report that the Arizona senator was cursing at his captors during his five-year stint as a POW in Vietnam, she famously admonished, "Johnny, I'm going to come over there and wash your mouth out with soap!" Despite his consistent opposition to same sex marriage, McCain's second wife, Cindy, starred in an ad campaign, along with the likes of Perez Hilton and Slash, for anti–Prop 8 group NOH8 with her hand on her heart and duct tape over her mouth. And, of course, who can forget a certain maverick from Alaska….

More From ELLE

Twenty-eight-year-old Meghan McCain, the fourth of the politician's seven children, is no different from the rest of the women in the McCain coterie. Since graduating from Columbia in 2007, the junior McCain—a registered Republican who describes herself as "liberal on social issues"—has made a career out of sharing (and over-sharing) on everything from politics to pop culture. She's taken to the Internet to blast her home state's immigration legislation (on The Daily Beast, where she's a regular contributor) and call Karl Rove "creepy"; authored two books, including the best-selling memoir Dirty Sexy Politics, in which she admitted to nearly overdosing on Xanax in the days leading up to the 2008 election; and has become a mainstay on the cable news circuit with appearances on Rachel Maddow and Larry King.

Unsurprisingly, McCain has made a few enemies in the process: Gawker has taken to referring to her as "noted idiot Meghan McCain" and Laura Ingraham has called her a "Valley girl." (For the record, she once told the ladies of The View that her critics can "kiss her fat ass.") This fall, McCain makes her (inevitable) reality-show debut on Raising McCain, a reality-show-meets-talk show that runs the gamut in topics from interviewing New York City councilwoman Inez Dickens to dating in the era of Tinder. The show premiered on September 14 at 10 P.M. ET/9 P.M. Central on Pivot, Participant Media's network geared toward millennials, which launched last month. While gearing up for the debut, McCain called ELLE to chat about her new project, what to do when a guy won't stop sexting you, and why she feels so sorry for Malia and Sasha Obama.

What would your elevator pitch be to someone who hasn't seen the show?

I wanted to do something that was similar to what MTV News was doing when I was younger. Look, I don't watch [traditional] talk shows like people in older generations do. I consume media in a very frenetic, overtweeting way. I wanted to do a talk show that reflected that. So we shot it on the road—we run around all through New York City. There's no fourth wall. It's hard to describe. It's truly a unique format—whether or not people like it, we'll see.

So would you say it's a political show?

Obviously, there's some politics, because politics comes up in conversation in a lot of different ways. The issues we cover are everything from coming out in America to the death of privacy to oversexed culture to millennial veterans. But I would never call it a political talk show—I think as much as I've worked in politics. I'm more interested in what unites us as a country, and what's popular seems to be the shows that are dividing us and emphasizing how the other side is the enemy, and that's not what I want to do with my life.

What makes you a compelling host for this particular show?

I just think I'm the average all-American girl. I have some things worked out, but for the most part I'm trying to figure out what I'm supposed to do when people sext me pictures after only two dates. Or, am I a feminist? There were just issues that weren't being discussed on TV that were affecting my life on a daily basis. Like the sexting—what do you do when you like a guy, and he's sexting you, and you're uncomfortable? I only talked to my girlfriends about it. And we thought that would be a great episode.

So what do you do in that situation?

Technology hasn't killed romance, but it has made it dormant. As a general rule, I wouldn't put anything in a text or e-mail or on social media that I wouldn't want the whole world to see. That being said, it depends how much you like the guy. My takeaway from the episode is that social media is a mind fuck.

Are you a feminist?

That's one of the main questions I explore in the show. Because I didn't relate to the old adage that "a woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle." I like having a man in my life, and I like male attention. Yet I still want equal pay and more women running for office. I do consider myself a postfeminist. I just want women to have choices—they can be CEOs of Fortune 500 companies or they can be stay-at-home mothers and raise their kids as a job.

Yet you're also pro-life?

I've been accused of being antifeminist for that reason. But the idea that you can't be a Republican and pro-life and still be a feminist is dangerous. I am pro-life, but I'm not for repealing Roe v. Wade. I don't want to tell other people what to do with their bodies.

That actually sounds more pro-choice to me. Did you read 'Lean In'?

I read part of it. I think Sheryl Sandberg's doing a lot of good things, but I don't agree with the whole "the best decision you could make is who you marry" statement in the book. I don't meet a lot of great guys. A lot of people have dating issues, and how can your success ever be determined by a man? She's such a cool woman and on top of Facebook, but that didn't sit well with me.

Has your dad seen the show?

He liked it, thank God. I interview him and my mom for the season finale.

His approval seems important to you, but you're not shy about criticizing some of his policies. Does it ever concern you that you might hurt his career?

The only thing I don't like about being so open about my opinions is the media wants to pit me against my dad, as if I'm going to let politics get in the way of our relationship. I've never had an instance where something I've said publicly has gotten in the way of my relationship with my dad. He gave an interview a year ago where he said "I may not agree with her but I respect her views." That was a really wonderful thing for him to say. I'm really lucky. If my parents weren't so cool, it could go south really quickly. I don't know what other families are like; other parents could get pissed. I talk to him about a lot of issues and try to get him on my side. I'd like him to come around to gay marriage.

Funny you say that. Your mom used that same choice of words in June, to describe the fact that your dad was in fact "coming around" to gay marriage.

I hope so. It's not his passion. He's so involved with the Middle East and the economy. I would take my mom's word for it, though. If she says he's coming around, he is.

Did you hear that Barbara Bush, George W. Bush's daughter, said she thought Hillary would make a great candidate in 2016?

I did not hear that, but good for her.

Really? You don't see that as a betrayal to your party?

No. I think everyone should feel free to say whatever they think. I also think Republicans have put so much emphasis on birth control or saying that our gay friends aren't allowed to get married, which completely goes against what being an American means. If Republicans keep nominating people who are socially conservative, we're going to continue losing elections. I don't think I would vote for Hillary Clinton—it depends on who the Republican nominee is—but as a woman I see how it is appealing for Barbara to want to see a woman running for office. A lot of the issues in this country would be solved if more women were running for office. We do shit better. We handle things.

Speaking of, what about Sarah Palin? Do you think she's relevant to Republican politics?

She'll always have a place and a following in American politics. But if you want to be taken seriously in politics, you can't do [reality TV]. She's made some not-so-smart decisions in the past seven years. But everyone likes a good comeback, so I'd never count her out.

Does that mean you'd like to see Palin 2016?

I'd like to see some new blood. I really want new people with new ideas.

Your dad said after the 2008 election that he was "kind of relieved" he wasn't elected president. Were you similarly relieved to have skipped being first daughter? You probably couldn't do this show.

I most certainly wouldn't have been able to. I think the idea of first daughter kind of seems like jail, and I'm happy I didn't have to do that. My heart always goes out to Sasha and Malia. I couldn't imagine spending my formative years under that kind of scrutiny. It doesn't seem like a fun gig to me. I think my father would have made an amazing president, and I was willing to make the sacrifice almost seven years ago, which seems like a long time ago now. No, but I don't think being first daughter sounds awesome at all.